


Jitters and Other Stories

by aNerdObsessed



Series: Running Home to You [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Flash AU, Modern AU, Rey Allen is the Flash, Running Home to You Universe, just a bunch of one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-08-18 19:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16523258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aNerdObsessed/pseuds/aNerdObsessed
Summary: A collection of random one shots in the same setting asRunning Home to You. Mostly pre-powers and all that jazz.





	1. Jitters

**Author's Note:**

> About 12 years after the events of Chapter 1 of _Running Home to You_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben drops in on Rey while she's working at Jitters and ends up playing therapist for her while ignoring his own feelings (of course)  
> 

Ben Solo prided himself on going the extra mile.

As a staff writer at the Cloud City Citizen, he would always get the shocking quote or find the stunning fact that made all of his pieces memorable, even if it was just another cat stuck in a tree. He worked his ass off for his job, and it showed.

Today, however, the extra mile was literal. Jitters was several blocks out of his way to the office but it was definitely worth it, and not just because the coffee was excellent. He pushed open the door to find the place packed with the morning rush. Evidently everyone else within a five-block radius had the same idea as him, except he was here for more than just his tall double espresso. 

As soon as he walked in, he saw her behind the counter, her grin radiant as she worked the register. He joined the long line, already knowing he would be late for work, watching as Rey chatted and laughed with every customer as though they were best friends. He would feel jealous, but that was just who Rey was. Still, as he got closer, he noticed her normal cheery demeanor seemed forced as she handed back change to a hipster-type college student, although he only noticed because he knew her. After all, they’d grown up together; they were practically family. Finally, he made it to the front of the line.

“Hey, Ben!” Rey said, a little too brightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, getting a coffee?” he said.

“Is that a question or a statement?” she smirked at him.

“Uh, statement.”

“Double espresso?”

“Yes, please.” 

“Coming right up!”

He handed her his card. “So, how are you?”

“Good. I’m good,” she said as she swiped it.

“How’s classes?”

Her smile cracked slightly.

“They’re fine.” She handed him his card and the receipt without meeting his eyes.

“No, they’re not. Bad grade on a test? You’re a great student; it happens to everybody.”

“No, nothing like that.” She waved a hand in dismissal.

“Then what is it?”

“Ben, I have customers,” she hissed, frustration leaking into her tone. “We’re kind of busy right now.”

 “Hey, Tracy!” Ben leaned over the counter and caught the attention of one of Rey’s coworkers, reading her name off the badge pinned to her apron. “Rey’s going on break, can you cover for her?”

“Ben, what the hell?”

“Sure,” Tracy said, directing a knowing smile at Rey as she bounced over to take the register. Rey huffed in irritation and stormed away behind the counter. Ben trailed behind as she pushed through the swinging gate into the seating area, making a beeline for the corner table. Once there, she turned on him.

“What was that for?” Rey demanded, hazel eyes flashing. “I wasn’t due for my break for another hour.”

“Something’s wrong, and I figured you wouldn’t want to hold up the line while you told me everything.”

“Who’s says I’m going to tell you?” she said. 

Ben just smirked, and she flapped her arms, defeated. 

“Fine.” She sat down at the table and Ben did the same. He was definitely going to be late for work. “So you know I’m taking a couple of CSI classes this semester, right?” 

He nodded. She’d talked about it nonstop over summer break.

“So we’ve been going over gunshot wounds and how to identify different types because – yeah, well, it’s the kind of stuff you need to know to be a CSI.” Rey fiddled with the edge of her apron, picking at the seam. “Yesterday, the professor went over self-inflicted. Nothing super detailed or anything. And obviously I knew that was a part of the job.” She sniffled quietly. Ben reached over the table and put a hand on her shoulder. Rey looked up at him, startled.

“It’s ok, Rey.”

She huffed and rubbed at the moisture gathering in her eyes. “No, it’s not. It’s stupid. It happened so long ago and I still get worked up over it like I’m still that little kid who just lost her parents and – “

“Hey, look at me,” Ben commanded with more confidence than he felt. Damnit, he hated when Rey was crying. Reluctantly, she looked up at him. “It’s ok, Rey. You’re human. It’s normal to be upset.”

She pulled a napkin from the dispenser and wiped her nose, then gave a weak nod. “Ok.”

“You’re going to be a great CSI. You just have to push through and learn from the tough parts, ok?” he instructed.

“Ok. Ok, I got this,” Rey repeated with slightly more confidence. She jumped up and grabbed him in a hug. “Thanks, Ben. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”

He felt jittery in a way that had nothing to do with caffeine as he returned the embrace awkwardly, never as enthusiastic as Rey was for physical touch. And maybe he was a little miffed at the “friend” label, although he didn’t dwell on why. He supposed it was better than “cousin,” though, given that she had been raised by his uncle.

“Of course, Rey. Anytime.”

Suddenly, she straightened, pulling back. “Don’t you like have a job or something?”

He swore, looking at his watch. “I’m very late.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Rey said. “And you didn’t even get your espresso! Here, let me go get it.” 

She dashed away behind the counter to get his drink and returned with a to-go cup and a chocolate pastry.

“Bonus for the BFF,” she explained. “Now go on, win that Pulitzer Prize.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

“Nah, you’ve got this.” She grinned. “See you at Luke’s?”

“Sure.” 

“Ok, bye!” She bounced away to take the register back from her coworker – whatever her name was – already focused on greeting the next caffeine-deprived zombie in the line. Ben didn’t leave right away, stealing another moment to watch her while taking an absent-minded sip of his drink and almost burning himself with hot espresso. He hissed at the pain, his trance broken, and looked at his watch again. 

 _Ok, you’ve really got to go, Solo_.

He pushed out the glass doors, leaving the warm smell of freshly ground coffee beans for the crisp scent of falling leaves. His thoughts were still fixed on Rey, though, and her classes. Ever since she’d had to live with Luke, she’d wanted to solve her parents’ murder even though to everyone else it was a closed case: husband loses it and shoots his wife before taking his own life. It was a small miracle that Rey wasn’t also killed. But she refused to believe it, saying that there was someone else, a  _yellow lightning man_ who had murdered her parents, even if the detectives and psychologists said that she was in shock, she was too young to understand what she really saw that night. 

But once Rey learned what a crime scene investigator was, that’s all that she ever wanted to be, and when Rey set her mind to something, that was the end of it.

Still, Ben couldn’t help but worry that she’d get hurt, whether triggered by something in her classes or her future job. He didn’t want her to face the devastation when she realized the truth of her parents’ death.

“Ben! You’re late!”

Ben realized he’d made it all the way inside the office without noticing and was standing next to his desk. Mitaka, one of the interns, stood nearby, looking at him with a frown.

“Yes, thank you for the update, Mitaka,” Ben said drily. 

“You’re welcome,” Mitaka said, missing the sarcasm in Ben’s voice. “Anyway, the boss wants your article on the S.T.A.R. Labs research grant on his desk by noon.”

Ben gave him the side-eye. “You know you’re not my secretary, right? I can manage my own deadlines.”

“I - uh – yes?”

“Good. See you, Mitaka.”

The short man scurried away at Ben’s dismissal, a hurt expression on his face. Mitaka was really too thoughtful and sensitive in Ben’s opinion, even though he knew there was nothing wrong with being nice by default. Ben sighed, then logged into his computer after setting down his coffee and pulled up the article. It was full of scientific jargon that he barely understood, talking about untapped energy sources and unexplored particle reactions. He’d actually had Rey explain some things to him as science was more her field, while he had majored in English and literature in college. 

And just like that, he was thinking about Rey again. He smiled as he remembered her enthusiastic explanation of the ongoing innovations at S.T.A.R. Labs.

_“Nerd,” he’d_ _accused_ _._

_“Says the guy who makes it a yearly practice to re-read the Lord of the Rings,”_ _she’d retorted._

_“Don’t diss a classic. Tolkien was an artist. Besides you like them too.”_

_She’d laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Don’t worry. I love you anyway, nerdiness and all.”_

_“You, too,” he’d said._

And he’d meant it, just more than she knew.


	2. Run, Rey, Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey plots Ben's murder after he convinces her to run a marathon.  
> About three years before the main plot of _Running Home to You_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://a-nerd-obsessed.tumblr.com)

Rey decided she was going to kill Ben Solo.

Her lungs burned and her legs were numb. Her skin was slick with sweat, her face probably resembled a ripe tomato, and she had a desperate urge to pee, but despite all that, somehow, she was still running. 

_Run a marathon with me, he said. It’ll be fun, he said._

Rey couldn’t understand what had possessed her to agree to train for the annual Cloud City Marathon with Ben, but right now she was seriously regretting it. 

He’d left her behind around mile ten, both of them having previously decided to run the marathon at their own pace. Rey had expected him to at some point, especially once they settled into their natural gait, when the initial adrenaline and the cheers of people lining the race route through downtown fading away. She knew he was faster than her by virtue of the fact that he had longer legs and for some mysterious reason he actually  _liked_ running. No, not just liked it, but  _loved_ it. 

When they were in middle school, before he hit his growth spurt, Rey could beat him in an all-out sprint. But Ben had always been more of the endurance runner, outpacing her over long distances, which frustrated her to no end.

Rey pressed on, her legs on auto-pilot. She managed to raise her head and saw a sign:  _Mile 23_. 

 _Mile 23?_ She had to think about that, her brain sluggish from low blood sugar, having eaten her last gummy bear around mile seventeen.   _Mile 23... 26 miles and change total... OVER THREE MORE MILES???_

Rey tried to weep, but she was pretty sure all her water and salt had been used up by her sweat glands. 

“Go, Rey!”

She looked up, not quite sure if she had really heard someone was calling her name.

“Run, Rey, run! You can do it!”

She saw him then, the bastard, jogging back towards her, the finishing medal around his neck. Ben Solo was wearing all black running gear, from his Saucony sneakers to his Nike moisture wicking tank top. And he looked  _good._

Rey lunged at him, half-mad with exhaustion, before she discovered that her body was too tired to listen to her. “I’m going to kill you, Ben Solo.”

“Whoa, Rey, calm down. You’ve got this. Come on, you’re almost there. I’ll run with you.”

“Not if you value your life,” she gasped, making another half-hearted swipe at him.

“Hey, hey, regulate your breathing, watch your stride. You’re going to wind yourself if you do that. Come on, match my pace.”

He settled in next to her, matching her painfully slow jog. She glared at him as she tried to regain her rhythm. If she was going to finish this thing, she’d do it fueled by spite. There was no way she was going to let Ben Solo have the satisfaction of watching her collapse at mile 24. 

It seemed like an eternity but it was really only about thirty minutes later when she crossed the finish line. Rey didn’t even notice when a race volunteer placed a medal around her neck or shoved a Gatorade in her hand. She slowed to a stop, feeling her legs trembling beneath her and started to sit down regardless of the fact that people were still running up behind her or that technically she was in the middle of the street in downtown Cloud City, only a block or two from Jitters.

“Nope, keep walking.” Ben grabbed her arm and forced her to keep moving, and she stumbled to keep up. “Drink something, you need it.”

“What about you?” she asked even as she obeyed, cracking the lid on the sports drink in her hand. 

“I am,” he stated, holding up his own bottle and sloshing the half-full container around. 

A muscle in her calf spasmed and Rey winced. “I’m still going to kill you, you know. Helping me finish the race did you no favors.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve acceptable my inevitable doom at your hands,” he said dryly. 

“Rey! Ben!”

Both of them turned – Rey almost fell over, but Ben steadied her – and saw Luke waving to them from the sidewalk. Slowly they made their way over, and Luke drew Rey into a hug.

“4:42! You finished five minutes under the average!” Luke exclaimed proudly as Rey wiggled away from his embrace. “That’s my girl!”

“Let go, Luke. I’m too sweaty and gross for hugs,” Rey protested, and he relinquished his hold and turned his attention to Ben.

“Good job, Ben, you did good,” Luke said.

“Thanks,” Ben said stiffly.

“Where’s Han and Leia?” Rey asked, starting to shiver as she glanced around. 

Ben grabbed a thermal blanket from a volunteer wandering through the crowd and draped it over her shoulders. “They’re not coming,” he said off-handedly.

“Oh.” Rey felt a stab of guilt for bringing it up, knowing that she should’ve expected it. Then she felt angry that she should have guessed, but it quickly faded when Luke spoke again.

“So, who’s up for waffles?”

Rey groaned, not sure if the idea of food enticed or nauseated her. “Let’s start by going home. Please? I think my body is dying.”

Ben smirked while Luke responded, “Ok, let’s go.”

~---~

The next day, Rey woke up in her bed under her fluffy comforter and groaned. Everything ached, whether she moved or not, each was its own form of torture. She moaned as she reached for her phone lying on her bedside table.

**_Rey_ ** _8:18am_

_I hate you_

**_Ben_ ** _8:19am_

_Good to know some things don’t change_

**_Rey_ ** _8:19am_

_I can’t move. I literally can't get out of bed. My thumbs_ _can barely_ _move to text you_ _rn_

**_Ben_ ** _8:20am_

_Well that’s unfortunate_

**_Rey_ ** __8:20a_ _ _m_

_BEN. I’m hungry_

**_Ben_ ** _8:20am_

_There’s this thing called food_

**_Rey_ ** _8:21am_

_Bring me a burger_

**_Ben_ ** _8:21am_

_What?_

**_Rey_ ** _8:21am_

_Big Belly Burger. Large fries. Now. I’m in pain because of your stupid idea. You owe me_

**_Ben_ ** _8:22am_

_It’s not even 8:30_

**_Rey_ ** _8:22am_

_I didn’t ask you for the time Benjamin_

**_Ben_ ** _8:25am_

_On my way_

Ben showed up twenty minutes later clutching a large plastic sack with the logo from Chewie’s Smokehouse as he let himself into Luke’s house. Rey shuffled down the stairs and into the living room, flopping on the couch and immediately wincing at the jolt.

“How are you feeling?” Ben asked, trying and failing to conceal a smirk.

“Murderous. And upgrading to from Big Belly Burger to Chewie’s doesn’t mean you aren’t still on my hitlist.”

Ben crossed the living room and sat down in a chair opposite the couch. “Hey, I did more than you asked, so you can stop plotting my death.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rey held out a hand. “Feed me and then I’ll think about it.”

He leaned forward to give her the paper bag that was sending out wafts of vinegar and woodsmoke. Rey watched him like a hawk, noting an unusual stiffness as he bent towards her. 

“Ha! You’re not a machine; you’re feeling it too!”

“I never said I wasn’t,” Ben defended, settling back slowly. “I just don’t whine about it like you do.”

She gaped at him, frozen in the act of pulling out her potato wedges. “I have a right to complain since you dragged me into this pain.”

“But I brought you barbecue.” He leaned forward and snatched some out of her grasp and stuffed them into his mouth with a cheeky grin.

“No! Stop it!” Quickly she stuffed a large handful into her mouth, shielding the rest from him. He lunged across the room and sat down on the couch, nearly crushing her, attempting to steal some more. Rey giggled as tried to pull her arm back so that he could reach the now half-empty carton and failed. Then he changed tactics, tickling her side so that she jerked, shrieking and scattering the rest of the wedges across the room.

“Ben! Look what you’ve done!”

“Okay, okay,” he said, relenting, as they both gasped with laughter, slumping on opposite ends of the couch. “You win.”

Once they had both calmed down a little, Rey groaned. “You know Luke has a no-eating-in-the-living-room rule, right?”

Ben chuckled, then pushed himself upright. He was looking at her with a lopsided smile that made her feel warm and fuzzy. “Thanks for running with me,” he said.

“Of course.” She grinned back at him. “Now you owe me Chewie's barbecue forever and ever.”

“I’m okay with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this, be sure to check out Part 1 of the _Running Home to You_ series!


	3. Know When to Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Rey's first day of high school and Ben's last first day of high school, and we meet one of her future nemesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About ten years before the events of _Running Home to You_
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://a-nerd-obsessed.tumblr.com)

The first day back at Cloud City North was always a low point for Ben Solo. All the clueless freshman running around and unhappy teachers griping about being back at it. The only bright side was that this was his last first day at CC North – one more year and he’d be off to college, free of the unnaturally blue fluorescent lighting and the decidedly strange un-food-like odors from the cafeteria that were the hallmarks of his high school.

Ben tugged his backpack up higher and pulled out his phone to check his schedule as he headed to his locker. He smirked a little when he thought of Rey’s panic this past weekend: printing off her class schedule and begging Luke to take her to the public library to laminate it so she wouldn’t lose it. She wasn’t the type to lose anything; in fact, she was a bit of a hoarder, although a surprisingly neat hoarder. He’d seen her room in Luke’s house a few times and there was not a pencil or spare screwdriver (of which she had several) out of place. Still, her nerves about her first day of high school had her bursting frantically through the gate that connected Luke’s backyard with the Solos’, into their house, and pounding on Ben’s door.

“ _What do you think?” she asked anxiously, holding her arms out wide as if revealing a magic trick._

_“Of what?”_

_“My outfit, genius. Do I look ok?”_

_Ben looked her up and down. She was wearing_ _dark_ _colored skinny jeans, red Converse, and a vertical striped tee._

_“Um, yes? Isn’t that what you normally wear, or am I missing something?”_

_“Ugh, you’re no help. I don’t know why I even bothered.”_

_“Why? What’s this for?”_

_She put her hands on her hips and glared at him._

_“First day of high school. I_ _gotta_ _make a good impression.”_

_“You’re Rey. Everybody will love you.”_

_She huffed even as she smiled. “You think so?”_

_“Yup. You’re my polar opposite. Nobody likes_ _me,_ _therefore everybody will like you.”_

_Rey grinned. “I like you.”_

_He gently shoved her back out of his doorway. “You’re the exception. Now let me have my last day of summer in peace.”_

_“See you tomorrow, Ben!” she called as she bounded down the stairs._

_He shook his head as he closed his door. “Freshmen.”_

Ben logged into the school’s online learning system and saw his first class: AP English Lit. He smiled to himself. Most people would think it’s too early in the morning for an AP class, especially one about old-fashioned writers who were long dead, but English was the one subject Ben actually enjoyed in school, even if he could feel the senioritis setting in before he’d gotten his first syllabus. 

“Hey, you’re Allen, right?”

Ben looked up to see who was talking. Down the hall, he saw Rey turn away from a wall of lockers to aim a beaming smile at a tall curvy girl with blonde hair backed by two flunkies. Ben vaguely thought that the girl was a junior – Gwen, maybe? – but he already knew by her tone that he didn’t like her.

“Yup, that’s me!” Rey said. Ben winced at her enthusiasm. “My name’s Rey. How’d you know who I was?”

“Oh, I don’t know who you are.” The girl smirked. “I know who your dad is. Or was.” 

Even from several yards away, Ben could see the light go out of Rey’s eyes and he tensed. The girl kept talking when Rey didn’t respond. 

“When I saw the story about your parents on the news, I always thought it was tragic that they left their little girl alone. Your dad didn’t even care enough to let your mother live.” She gave Rey a once-over, her eyes burning with contempt as her friends giggled. “You’ve got no one, Allen. You’re a nobody. That’s  _so sad_.”

Rey’s lip was trembling and her eyes were wet as the blonde turned away. Her hands tightened into fists and she launched herself at the girl’s back, but Ben had already beat her to it.

“Hey,” he growled, spinning the girl around. “Don’t you ever,  _ever,_  talk to her like that again.”

“Let go of me!” the blonde spat, shaking off his grip on her shoulder and stepping back. “What’re you going do, Solo? Think you can hit a girl in the middle of the school?”

Unfortunately, she was right. A crowd was gathering and it wouldn’t be long before they got the attention of some of the teachers. Still, he was angry enough that he was just about to do it anyway.

“Ben.” Rey was tugging on his arm, pulling him away. “Ben, it’s okay, just let it go.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Ben, stop it. Let’s go.”

He looked down at into her pleading eyes and relented, let her drag him away. He’d already done enough.

“That’s right, Allen. Keep your guard dog on a leash. You’re gonna need him.”

_That’s it._

But this time Rey was first, turning and stepping in front of Ben to raise both her hands and flip the girl off before storming away, leaving the crowd to gasp and burst into frenzied whispering. Ben looked from Rey to the blonde, who glowered at him, before shrugging and chasing after Rey.

He caught her just outside the girls’ bathroom, pulling her into the entryway of a locked classroom next door, catching her attempt at a quiet sniffle.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding her shoulders.

She let go of a sob. “I - I just thought maybe in a new school, everyone would forget about it, and – and I could just be  _Rey_  and not that  _poor girl with the dead parents_.”

“Hey, look at me,” Ben commanded. “They might think of you like that. But not to me, because I know you. And once they know you, they’ll see it too.”

Rey quieted at that, sniffing softly. “Thanks for standing up for me.”

Ben shifted his feet. “Sure. And – uh, thanks for stopping me from, you know, hitting a girl.”

She gave him a watery smile. “Luke always says to know when to run.”

Ben huffed a laugh, taking a step back.

“Are you saying I couldn’t beat a girl?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Solo. But only if that girl is me.”

He chuckled. “Well, we don’t have time to find out now. You’re going to be late for class.”

“Oh, no! Not my first day!” Rey gasped as the warning bell rang and dashed out into the hallway without a glance back. Ben sighed, trudging towards his class for the second time that morning. The first day of his senior year had proven much more exciting that he anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Hope you enjoy this (super short) one-shot. Let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> Like my drivel? Want to see more? Let me know!
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://a-nerd-obsessed.tumblr.com/)


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